How Does Apple Manufacture Their MacBook? - Features

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As we have come to expect from Apple, in addition to the simple innovation of its process in designing the MacBook, there are also numerous new features that are the product of that process which are very impressive in and of themselves.

The one feature that I am most impressed by in the new MacBook is the “idle” light. I understand that probably sounds very lame and unimpressive, but it really is the single coolest part about this new laptop. While on, the idle light appears to be completely normal. However, according toAppleInsider, when you open the laptop and the light turns off, you cannot tell that anything was ever there. All that you can see is a seamless piece of aluminum: the unibody.

Apple achieves this magic during their incredibly impressive manufacturing process. The CNC mill first thins out the aluminum at the spot where the idle light will be placed. Then, using ultra fine and precise lasers, they create countless microscopic holes in the thinned-out aluminum. The holes are numerous enough that light can get through so that you can see the idle light, but small enough that you cannot even tell that they are there under normal circumstances.

One of the other features of the new MacBook’s body is the “thumbscoop.” For the uninitiated, this is the small indention in the frame of the laptop from which you can pull up the display from the body. Apple put a considerable amount of time and effort into this small piece of the unibody. They faced the issue that if they made the thumbscoop too deep, then too much stress would be placed upon the display during opening. However, if the thumbscoop was too shallow, then people would not be able to open the laptop. According to Apple’swebsite, the designers went through hundreds of revisions to get the thumbscoop right. They even inspected the revisions under an electron microscope to ensure absolute precision!